


Fireflies

by Michevalier



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Akiema, Angst, Bullying and Violence are Mentioned, F/M, First Sexual Experience, Graphic Sexual Content, Heavy Angst, Hurt No Comfort, I suffer while writing them, Oh Dear, Please Kill Me, Please somebody stop me for writing more angst and fics with high ratings, Teen Pregnancy, hireshipping, seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-16 14:15:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11830437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Michevalier/pseuds/Michevalier
Summary: Ema was torn apart, but Akira never knew about it. Even though he promised that their life would be a real fairy tale, he broke down under the weight of reality. And so did Ema as she was forced to face consequences of their "fairy tale" all alone in the renewed darkness of her life... the darkness that grew even thicker. But Akira was not there with her, he could never be, so Ema had to build her white marble castle all alone... for the sake of her guilt.





	Fireflies

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I don't have much to say here except that fairy tales are sure to be defeated by harsh reality under one circumstances or another...
> 
> This is simply one of my crazy speculations about Ema and Akira's relationship.

Even though her eyes got used to the blue light emitted from computer screen Ema still rolled back in her chair to rub them. Constant staring at tiny lines of code for the last three hours did have their effect in form of light dryness and pain. The woman sighed as she reached for one of the desk drawers and searched for her eyedrops. The medicine unpleasantly pinched her eyes, making Ema hiss. But she always endured it. After all, it was a natural consequence of her job.

Her phone caught her attention with a lively ringtone. Ema went to check the income call, but as soon as she saw the number and the name of the caller her chest started to ache.

"Oh my. He doesn't learn things easily, huh?" having heavily sighed, she shook her head and declined the call, threw the phone away on sofa.

Ignoring seemed like the best way to deal with Zaizen Akira. Ema was already really tired of him calling her almost the whole evening. It was the fifth time by the way.

The woman shrugged and look at the clock hanging on the wall. It was almost 11 P.M. And, of course, Akira was still not sleeping. How could he possibly sleep at his workplace? Even after he was demoted to Chief this man kept on overloading himself with work anyway. Such persistence...

Ema stretched herself, yawning.

No way. She wouldn't have gave in that easily. The information she had got about possibly certain incident involving SOL Technologies was not intended for Akira. No money, no info. She told him that outrightly enough. She was a cyber information broker who set her own prices for stuff, the more valuable data was, the more fee she demanded. Akira could not afford it, so, naturally, he was out of the game. Besides, she had her eye on another potential though yet unaware of it himself customer. The infamous and mysterious Playmaker was his name.

Ema chuckled quietly as she looked at her phone for the last time before going to get her bathing robe and taking a nice shower.

Half an hour later the woman left the bathroom, sighing in delight. Water procedures sure helped her to relax after her hard work. Ema sit down on sofa and took a towel off her head and, having grabbed a comb, started to take care of her the most beautiful in the world pink hair. The comb was moving along moist strands with perfect ease, making the woman relax even more. But a sudden loud sound made her flinch.

"The hell?" she grimaced in irritation as she threw her comb to the side and picked up the cursed phone again, this time not checking the number because she already knew the identity of the caller. "Akira!" she breathed in, somehow trying to not allow a tiny supernova in her chest explode. "I thought I told you this clearly enough! If you don't have the sum, I'm not intere..."

"Ema?" a woman's voice made her shudder. "It's me."

"Mom!" Ema blinked a couple of times before putting on her mask of always cheerful and energetic woman answering the call. "Hi! What's up? At this hour?"

"You know what's up!" the voice on that side sounded tired and annoyed. "Why else do I even keep calling you?"

"That's right..." Ema's fake smile faded away as she rubbed her left temple. "We have no topics for conversation aside from that one."

"And it's your own fault," the voice became icy cold. "How is your current situation?"

"Didn't I send you enough money last week?" Ema's fingers were nervously tugging at the hemline of her nightgown.

"That you did. But you forgot about last Sunday. And that wasn't the first time it happened. What are you thinking?"

"I'm sorry," Ema bit her lip and lowered her head, hiding behind her long hair that was almost like a curtain protecting her from an invisible enemy. "How is she doing..?"

"As if you cannot imagine," the voice sighed heavily. "Calling for you, being cranky. Hiraku-san and I are barely managing sometimes."

"Heh... I suppose she's just like me when I was her age, huh?"

"That's true. Anyway, what about this weekend?"

"Mom..." Ema's face darkened as she looked at calendar on the wall. "I'm sorry. I don't think I will make it this Sunday either."

"Dear gods!" mother's voice erupted with now barely concealed anger. "Why did you punish me with such a no-good child?! Didn't you tell that your freelance whatever job has very flexible schedule?"

"It's a freelance programmer, mom," Ema's body stiffened. "It does have a flexible schedule. It's just that I won't have free time this Sunday, most likely. And I don't want to give uncertain promises, it'll hurt even worse if I don't keep them."

"Won't have time, huh?" mother began attacking her daughter with heavy artillery. "Just what makes you so busy, hm? Are you sure that the way you're making for living is called "programming computer shit"? The money you receive is way too extreme for something like that. Say... Who was that Akira guy for whom you've mistaken me? And what did you mean you're not interested if he doesn't have money? Please, don't tell me you're..."

That was where Ema lost it completely. Her breath hitched and as if a glass vessel filled with highly flammable substance got heated to the limit and bursted, sharp shards of the said vessel cut right into the woman's heart.

"Mother!" she roared like infuriated lioness. "Who the hell do you think I am?! Just because I made one _mistake_ it doesn't mean that everything _else_ about me went down the drain! I'm being totally honest with you about how am I making those god damn money! Hush down your sick imagination, okay? There is nothing to despise me for! You hear me?"

There was a grim silence on the other end of the line, and Ema immediately chilled. Because everything she just blurted out was...

" _A lie,_ " her heart skipped a beat and became deadly cold.

"Whatever," mother's unnaturally low voice sounded creepy enough to send shivers down her spine. "But remember, if it wasn't for you in the first place, neither I nor father would have to go through any of it. You're at fault."

"Only me," Ema whispered as she felt her fingers holding the phone growing numb. "You're right. I'm no good."

"That you are."

"Heh... well then. It's late already."

"Going to sleep? Father and I have to stay awake most of the time. You know why. She's quite capricious and restless."

"Poor thing... Kiss her for me, okay? Maybe that will help."

"Not sure. But I'll ask Hiraku-san to try."

"Alright then," Ema nodded and smiled gently. "Good night, mo..."

The call was cut right away. Mother hung up without saying another word to her own daughter.

Ema absent-mindedly stared at her phone for awhile before looking away and putting the device aside. Her head was absolutely empty, the entire world turned mute, only her heartbeat and occasional rustling of her hair echoed in her ears. Barely feeling her own limbs that suddenly turned jelly-like, she slowly wrapped her arms around herself. The worst possible embrace ever, but that was all she could afford for herself in this fancy but endlessly cold and lonely apartment. The apartment was illuminated brightly, but certain darkness reawoke inside Ema's head, erased all her thoughts, having left only a pure blackness in her mind, blankness in her eyes.

"And yes, mom," her trembling lips barely let out the quiet words directed at emptiness. "That Akira guy was... nobody."

Or at least that was the lie she was desperately forcing herself to believe in.

No wonder. Bessho Ema was woven with lies almost entirely. 

For example, like right now when she tried to put up an indifferent facade and huff dismissively while getting up from sofa and going to the nearest mirror.

Or when she told mother that she was a freelancer programmer. That wasn't really a lie though. She really never had a definite employer, she worked for anyone who was able to pay by her prices. Pretty much a freelance way, right?

Not exactly. Fifty-fifty.

Because normally freelancers wouldn't go beyond the borders of things that were considered "legal". It was Ema, or, how she was known in VR, Ghost Girl, who was always ready to dive into the deepest, most dangerous parts of infinite data ocean in order to get the most forbidden and valuable pearls. She also considered herself, and sometimes laughed about it, to be an alluring siren who was attracting her potential employers with the treasures in her possession and, thus, blinding them with their shining, making them too blind to see that the siren was actually not a petite and obedient golden fish but a gold-digging shark ready to bite them whenever she had no use of them.

And that was exactly what happened to Akira too.

" _I have no interest in men with no power or money._ "

Oh yes, she bit him hard enough earlier in the day. She put an enormous pressure into her fangs to make it as painful as possible.

Ema straighted her hair and smiled at her reflection in the mirror.

That smile though would have been more natural on Barbie's face rather than human being. So much of artificial vibe there was in the way those lips curled.

" _It's fine,_ " Ema reassured herself, using her thoroughly learned by heart prayer. " _Zaizen Akira is nobody. Nothing else matters._ "

But how much she was lying to herself...

It was such a big fat lie that smelled so awfully and tasted so bitterly at the tip of her tongue that Ema grimaced. Her own reflection suddenly became so disgusting to her that she hurried to walk away from the damn mirror.

Breath in. Breath out.

The woman leaned against the wall and, looking upwards, clenched her fists as if she was indeed praying. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, her heart was beating like crazy as her breathing was becoming labored, signalling about the upcoming hysteria.

Breath in. Breath out.

Ema pushed back her bangs, somehow managing to soothe herself.

No. No matter what her own parents or other side-eyeing her people said or thought everything was fine.

There was nothing wrong with the way she lived.

Yes. She knew that people often whispered behind her back about just how much of an arrogant bitch and a slut she was. Hell, even her mother in this last conversation heavily implied that she suspected her daughter to be making so much money through prostitution.

_So what?_

It's not like Ema was vulnerable against gossips and prejudices. She did grew herself that spiky shell, those fangs to bite back anyone who tried to attack her directly. As for the cowardice dogs who attempted to cover her with mud while sneaking up on her from shadows, honestly, Ema didn't even think of them as a threat. She knew well how to protect herself in any sort of scenario, she was a master of illusions that made a fragile green stalk look like a strong centenary oak. The magic spell for that was to repeat "It's fine" three times while tucking a strand behind her ear.

"It's fine, it's fine, it's fine..." Ema did just that, whispering, as she searched through the living room, her eyes were frantically looking at every corner.

Finally, she found the thing right in front of her, lying at a coffee table.

The woman sighed with relief, her brief panic attack ceased for good as she took the magazine and flopped back onto the sofa. There was no bookmark among the glossy pages, but Ema still knew that what was she looking for was right in the middle, so she smiled when she opened just the needed page, the one that held an accurate sketch drawn by her own hand.

This was the medicine for her inner turmoil. This was the thing which brightened up her gloomy days and prevented her from going insane. This was the ultimate goal, something for the sake of which she was a cyber treasure hunter from the start. A huge white house high in the faraway mountains. This manor made of snow white marble, no, a real castle under the dazzling blue sky was surrounded by ever-green woods, the sun reflected in the nearby pond, making the water sparkle like thousands diamonds. Ema closed her eyes. As if for real she could hear birds singing, wind rustling among trees, feel the air filled with the scent of acerose, the gentle sun rays caressing her skin. Ema imagined herself having breakfasts each morning in her big garden and looking at butterflies fluttering near magnificent red rose bushes and swans peacefully swimming in the crystal pond. Ah yes, that sure was something worth to invest money in. Those money which Bessho Ema was making while risking everything.

"A castle for a princess," the woman giggled like a little girl.

Her tiny moment of self-reassurance was interrupted just as suddenly as something crawled on her bare knee. Ema lowered her gaze and her eyes widened in surprise.

"How did you get in here, fiery ass?"

Fiery ass. That was the nickname Ema gave those peculiar little bugs that shone brightly through the night. In other words, it was a firefly she let to crawl onto her finger right now.

The woman put away her magazine and got up from the sofa, heading in the balcony direction. Fresh chilly air wrapped her bare skin still extra sensitive after the nice warm shower. This contrast made goose bumps appear on Ema's body, but she payed no attention to it as she carefully raised her arm forward. Den City down below was glimmering with numerous colorful lights, but the only light that captivated Ema at the moment was the tiny one in her palm.

"Come, buddy. Be free," the woman gently waved her hand, letting the firefly into the air.

Little bug soared high in the night sky and soon enough disappeared among the artificial lights of Den City. Ema kept staring at them for awhile, wind was playfully waving her hair, but suddenly the woman's legs buckled and she, having grabbed tightly onto the balcony railing, fell on her knees. Dizziness overwhelmed her as she helplessly sobbed, her shoulders were trembling. 2:0 in cursed emotions favor.

All because of a tiny firefly.

Because he or she had probably flew back to his or her home, to beloved one and, probably, their babies.

Grief was pulsing through Ema's veins, shivers were running up and down her entire body as she softly, like a beaten dog, whined.

"A firefly... my little Hotaru..."

No matter how she tried Ema could have possibly forgotten how much her life was connected to those living itsy bitsy lights. They were illuminating, exposing her sore heart every time she tried to protect it by hiding it in pitch black darkness. And, alas, there was no salvation.

A couple of big crystal teardrops that rolled down the woman's cheeks and reflected the city's lights, just like the fireflies lightened Ema's past.

~~~

She promised she would come by midnight, so Zaizen Akira was waiting. He always believed her promises. Even when the electronic watch around his wrist was showing half past midnight the boy never lost his faith. The only thing that made him fidget inside his tent was slight worry. What was taking her so long? Was there any problem with her sneaking out from her camping site? His own was not that far away, but was she caught? Would she come after all? Was there any sense for him to keep on waiting?

Another five minutes later Akira sighed and decided that she wouldn't probably make it tonight. He was ready to go to sleep when suddenly he almost got a heart attack. Something obviously big was in front of his tent, making the grass eerily rustle. As its shadow approached closer and closer and the tent's zipper shrieked Akira hastily huddled in the corner. What if it was a wild hungry wolf that came from the woods? Was there anything he could possibly protect himself with? A knife? A stick? A frying pan at the very least?! Luckily, Akira remembered that he had a flashlight, but as soon as he grabbed it he realized that it was run out of its batteries.

" _Damn!_ " he closed his eyes and prepared for his doom as the tent was opened completely...

"Boo!"

Akira's heart stopped once more. But this time a genuine indignation was written across his face.

"You!" he frowned, looking at the giggling pink-haired girl that appeared inside his tent.

"Aww, what's wrong?" the expression on her face was akin to those used when talking to small babies. "Did big bad Ema scare her prince?"

"I just thought it was a big bad wolf," Akira coughed in his fist as he blushed brightly.

"Boo-hoo, little baby," the girl laughed as she closed the tent and then crawled to him and snuggled up. "Don't you worry. Ema is not a wolf, she's a bear. Big, fluffy and cute teddy-bear."

"You have no shame," the boy crossed his arms.

"You're no fun," Ema pouted.

"I'm just a bit neurotic," Akira wrapped his arm around her shoulder and, having pulled her even closer to himself, kissed the top of her head. "Nevermind. What took you so long?"

"It's normal for gladies to be late for their dates," the girl chuckled and nuzzled against his chest like a domestic cat. "But if seriously, here."

Ema opened a bag hanging over her shoulder and took out something wrapped in cloth. She removed the cloth and suddenly the dark tent became dimly illuminated.

"What is this?" Akira took a closer look at a glass jar filled with some tiny and seemingly living golden lights.

"Fiery asses," Ema giggled.

"Fiery what?" the boy blinked, looking up at her.

"Fireflies if you're not okay with my personal colloquial name for them."

"Oh, I see. But why did you..?"

"Catch them and bring here?" she shrugged. "Well, we're not allowed to light candles inside tents and I simply wanted to find something to replace them with. I wanted something romantic and magical that's why... But yeah, it did take some time to catch them. Sorry."

"So that what it was," Akira smiled and stroked her hair lovingly. "No need to worry though. We still have plenty of time before the sun rises and when everyone wakes up."

"Hehe, you're right," the girl purred, leaning forward to kiss him on lips.

Each and every second of this night was precious and neither Ema nor Akira wanted to miss any, so the two held each other in their arms and, not breaking their sweet, like honey, kiss, lay down on soft blankets beneath. They, an ordinary couple of two high school students in their second year, were considering themselves to be the king and the king of this night. They felt like they had power over the entire world by making it disappear, time and space also melted away in the heat of their young and uncontrollable passion as they were holding each other, drinking that dazzling nectar of their love from each other's hot and needy lips.

Ema gasped, her nails dug into the fabric of Akira's shirt, her fingers started trembling. She felt his lips on her lips, a silky tongue that ran along the rough surface of her lips and a low whisper.

"Tasty lipstick."

Every thought that was previously vivid and clear turned blank inside her head. The girl breathed a little more often, half-opened her lips, dying to deepen the kiss and melt in it completely.

"Hang on," but suddenly Akira pulled away and made Ema almost whine.

"What's wrong..?" her face was flushed and her lips were on fire.

"I want to make everything even more magical," he caressed her heated cheek with the back of his hand.

Confused, Ema blinked as the boy took the glass jar with fireflies and opened its lid, letting all those living lights out.

"Why did you do that?" the girl watched fireflies soaring in the air and landing on the tent's walls.

"I figured they didn't have enough room in that jar. Besides, isn't it more amazing when they twinkle all around us like the stars?"

"Twinkle, twinkle, little stars," Ema sang and giggled, reaching her arm upwards. "The stars that we can touch."

"The stars that I can grab", Akira reached out too and carefully picked a firefly, the little one immediately crawled into his palm. The boy chuckled. "And give them to you as a gift."

The girl smiled radiantly and accepted the "gift" into her own hands. Living "star" was merrily twinkling in her palm with warm light. This tiny golden shine reflected in Ema's big pink eyes, making Akira grow even more captivated to their beauty.

"It's like a fairy tale," Ema giggled as she gently let the firefly soar.

"You deserve a life like in one," the boy tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, the girl's breath hitched at the contact and she couldn't help but lean into his touch. Akira chuckled as he ran his thumb across her lower lip, causing her blood to start boiling.

"You're my prince charming," she murmured, drowning in his loving eyes.

"I'll be anyone you want," he chuckled and bent forward, softly touching the tip of her pointed ear with his lips. "My fair elf maiden."

Ah yes _, elf maiden_.

Before she met Akira she would have never thought about such a nickname for herself. Ema used to hate her pointed ears. Those ears which she, like her mother told her once, inherited from god knows who. It was probably a reminiscent of the wild and naughty lifestyle of her mother back when she was young. Ema's mom used to be a girl with pretty indecent behavior which was obviously painful as she would sometimes practically live in various nightclubs. Lots of fooling around, drinking, sleeping with hella tons of men, but eventually all of it came to its logical end when after another party the girl discovered that she got knocked up. Ema never knew who her father was, mother couldn't even remember the last guy who slept with her before the totally unexpected offspring happened.

Yes. That was what Ema was to her mother.

Unexpected offspring.

Mistake. Punishment. Burden.

Luckily, it forced the previously stupid young girl to turn into a grown smart woman, she changed her lifestyle, found a low-paid but still a job, but... Unfortunately, it never changed the fact that mother could have never forced herself to love her daughter, that unplanned child with unknown genetics, from a man she never loved or even knew. And Ema was constantly reminded about that throughout her entire childhood.

" _You have just as much brains as that father of yours from whom you got those ears,_ " mother would often say that whenever she felt irritated by her unneeded daughter, and it happened quite often. 

That was painfully twofold, about Ema's brains. The girl never had any problems with her intellect, vise versa, many people found her to be a real child prodigy. Alas... Ema never cared about opinions of others. The only opinion that ever mattered to her was one and the only, her mother's. That mother's which would barely show anything but cold and distant attitude towards her child, who would never ask how was her daughter's day at school.

And all of Ema's days were horrible to say the least. Do you know how cruel can be elementary school children? Was there actually any valid reason why would they tease and bully their classmate? Just because little Ema was a little bit more shy and less talkative? Because she prefered reading something interesting instead of fooling around and causing mischiefs? Because she always valued her hard work with studying and never gave anyone copy her home assignments? Because she seemed arrogant while not communicating with others whereas there were just no people with whom she shared interests? And, for god's sake, because her pointed ears seemed that much exotic or plainly weird? Was that so necessary to daily remind Ema about how much of a weirdo she was? An alien? A demon? A freak? Did those other children have the need to pull her hair, dirty her clothes as they were throwing mud at her, drive her into a circle and, laughing, shove her around or, for the last time, pinch those cursed pointed ears of hers? Why was this even happening to her?

"Ema..?"

" _Why..?_ "

"Hey, Ema!"

She gasped and blinked as her faraway memories went away and Akira's concerned face resurfaced right above hers once more.

"What's wrong?" he gently brushed his thumb along her cheek while looking right into her eyes.

"Ah... What do you mean?" she curved her lips in a brief smile at the touch.

"You are sad," he said, and Ema became convinced for the hundredth time that he could read her thoughts. Akira was like a perfect scanner that couldn't have been deceived by her mask of bubbly, ever-happy girl. "Did someone dare bullying you again?"

Ema chuckled and took his face into her hands, lovingly stroking his cheek with her thumb.

"Not at all. But even if they did I couldn't care less as long as you're here, with me."

She wasn't lying. It had always been like this, ever since she met him when she was seven years old. Zaizen Akira, a boy from the parallel class. A son of a rich parents and one of the most top students in their school. And a true, noble gentleman.

"Are you sure?" he kissed the corner of her eye just in time, having prevented a treacherous teardrop from appearing.

"I really am," she smiled, looking into his eyes lovingly.

Of course. How could she have any doubts with Akira around? After all, he was her one and only prince.

 _A prince_.

This title subconsciously printed inside Ema's head long ago. She was a small child. Miserable, bullied child. And on that particular rainy day her classmates decided to turn her another day in hell by pushing her down into a puddle. Those little monsters were laughing and kept on shoving her back in the mud every time she wanted to get up on her feet. Over and over and over again Ema would fall face down in the water, her tears and dirt mixed together were giving bullies even more pleasure as they laughed at her, taunted her and took pictures of her with their phones. The culmination of the torture was when suddenly she was harshly grabbed by her hair and her face was put under the water, seemingly without an intention to be pulled out. It felt like eternity as little Ema was struggling, as her lungs started to hurt because of the lack of air. Her limbs were growing cold, her consciousness was fading, she really felt she was going to die... but everything stopped in one moment. Someone appeared and shoved aside the bully that was holding her and scared all the others, having forced those cowards to run with their tails between their legs. Ema was desperately gasping for air and coughing as she was still about to faint...

" _Hey, are you okay?!_ " a boyish voice startled her.

She shuddered and slowly looked up.

" _Are you hurt anywhere... Ema, right?_ "

A neatly looking boy was reaching out his hand to her, genuine concern was glimmering in his beautiful pink eyes. Sunbeams briefly showed up through the heavy gray clouds, and Ema almost thought she saw a halo shining around the boy's silhouette. It was truly breathtaking.

" _I..._ " her lips flinched as she whispered. " _Y-yes, I'm Ema. And no, I'm okay._ "

Even though she was shivering like a beaten pup and looked totally, in her opinion, pathetic, the boy still gave her his hand and jacket and took her under his umbrella, escorting her to school infirmary. On the way there he somehow clumsily but helped her to calm down a bit and, thus, they got to know each other.

"What is it?" and later, the seventeen years old Zaizen Akira was looking at his girlfriend a little confused as she giggled softly.

"Nothing much. I've just remembered our past. You've always been so sweet to me. I'm so grateful for that."

The boy blushed brightly.

Ema was absolutely charming. Akira, as a well-bred young gentleman he was, always despised those who hurt the weak, but if someone was doing that to this adorable girl his rage would always grow hundredfold.

"I just want to stay by your side," he repeated for a thousandth time his prayer, his wholehearted desire. Ema softly chuckled and stroked his head tenderly as he held her tightly in his embrace.

How in the world did they end up being together like this? Like the most caring sweethearts to each other? Even though they came from entire different worlds and social circles, she, a daughter of a single mother whose job was low-paid, and he, a son of rich father and mother who were practically bathing in money? Well, surprisingly enough, loneliness can bring people closer. Akira used to tell Ema that his big fancy manor was no warmer than a crypt. The boy's father, the only one who was able to give him a tiny ounce of warmth, was mostly away from home due to his work, Akira would often not see him before bedtime. As for mother... That woman who was as beautiful as the moon, unfortunately, she was just as distant and cold as one. She was known to be a furious "social lioness" who would always throw herself in the very fiery core of any party. She was the woman who saw the meaning of "parental love" to be equal of that of "total obedience" and "superiority over others".

" _You, a Zaizen, must be a shark if you don't to end up like those pitiful spineless little fishes whose fate is to be eaten by the likes of us,_ " mother would often say whenever she felt that her son was behind his peers in any sort of thing.

That's why Akira had always been doing his best to please her by being the best in studies and in good manners, even though that woman would still just briefly smile while her pink eyes, those that Akira inherited from her, remained icy cold.

That's why Akira never cried during her funeral, when she got killed by some mugger who managed to knock her bodyguard out in that dark alley. There was simply no a tear to shed on behalf of that woman who had been always ignoring his own lonely tears.

"Akira? Akira!"

"Hm?" Ema's voice dragged him out of his memories. "Huh?"

"Now you're the one who seem sad," she nuzzled their foreheads together.

Akira only chuckled and nuzzled back, with only this small gesture convincing her that everything was alright.

It was their own, special magic.

They were a couple, a couple of lonely fireflies that met in the darkness and never let each other go after, illuminating each other's life. At first, they became a couple of best friends who could always each other pain and loneliness which felt not that heavy as they carried the burden together. And then,as they grew a bit older, they became a couple of lovers who would solace each other with blissful and sweet kisses, kiss away each other's tears no matter how bitter they were.

"Hey," Ema grinned as she brushed her fingers through Akira's blue hair, ruffling that perfectly slicked back hairdo. "You know what?"

"What?" the boy chuckled, not caring about his hair at all as he kept looking into his beloved one's eyes.

"I love you, Zaizen Akira," she pecked him at the corner of his lips.

"I love you too, Bessho Ema," he murmured and locked their lips in a lingering kiss.

The prince tenderly covered his elf maiden with his body, and the elf maiden arched her back, bringing herself closer into her prince's embrace.

"Hey, Akira?" she whispered into his lips and, holding his hand, entwined their fingers.

"Mm?"

"Am I beautiful?"

"Of course," he chuckled. "You're the fairest of them all, my queen."

"I want to hear your opinion," the girl pouted. " Not quoting the Magic Mirror from Snow White."

"But it is true," he kissed her on cheek. "You're the most beautiful for me. And what I adore the most about your looks are these."

He leaned and, mischeviously smiling, nibbled the tip of her pointed ear, having made Ema gasp and blush.

"I think your ears are the cutest," he nuzzled her softly.

The girl sniffled, tears of joy appeared in the corners of her eyes but were immediatelly kissed away by her lover. Ema wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss.

She was happy. She was _so_ happy.

She hated those ears that she inherited from god knows who, those ears that were an object of her peers' mockery. But as long as at least one person, at least Akira kept on telling her that she is beautiful and these ears are the cutest, only then Ema could embrace, accept everything about herself and be happy with the only man who loved her no matter what she was like.

The two were kissing so passionately as if they wanted to melt in each other's body heat. They were no longer a couple of kids who went with their respective classes on a school trip, camping into the woods. They were a couple of loving hearts that desperatly wanted to spend more time together, drink sorrows from each other's lips and taste sweetness from the tip of beloved one's tongue. Nothing else existed for Ema as she closed her eyes and rubbed Akira up and down his spine, occasionally gripping onto his shirt as his tongue was dominating against hers in their heated dance. Akira felt quite zealous about his desire to be the leading one in this dance. As he enthusiastically explored the girl's mouth and tenderly rubbed her sides with his gentle hands he plunged deeper and deeper into pleasure. Ema's tiny moans were like the most exquisite music to him, her taste was better than that of the most delicious dish. Her head was swimming, the world turned into some sort of surrealistic blur as the only things that existed for her were Akira's lips, tongue and hands. She was eager not to let him defeat her completely in their ardent battle, but at the same time she was too weak and actually wanted to be engulfed in the flames of his love entirely. So she entered the next round without hesitation as their tongues licked and teeth clicked.

"Oof!" Akira pulled away for a brief moment when Ema became so agitated that she unintentionally bit his lower lip too hard. "Careful!"

"Ah!" she blushed even worse, though it seemed impossible with her face being already flushed beyond limits. "Sorry!"

"Just be more gentle, okay?" he smiled at her kindly and kissed her lips again.

Their mutual love oblivion resumed and grew even hotter. Indeed hotter. Both Ema and Akira felt bothered by their upper clothes that became soaked with sweat and were now sticky against their skin. The two broke their kiss when their lungs hurt and, without conspiring, started undress each other. Akira helped his girlfriend by pulling her top over her head. Ema laughed as she threw aside that unneeded piece of clothing and got herself busy with buttons on her lover's shirt. Akira's face flushed brightly as with each undone button his bare chest came into view more and more, making a small naughty fire appear in Ema's eyes.

"Handsome," she purred as her sharp-nailed fingers ghosted across his white, like marble, skin. "Insanely handsome."

"You really think so?"

"But of course," she smirked and playfully pecked his nipple, causing the boy to shudder. "Though you are a bit skinny."

"Oh?" Akira simulated offense as he frowned slightly. "So you prefer buff men, huh?"

"I prefer only you, dummy head," she pulled him closer, brushed their noses and whispered against his cheek. "Because I love you."

How could she not? His appearance never mattered to her, she loved Akira because he was the only one who saw miserable, bullied freak as beautiful, beloved by him queen, because he was the one who turned her tears to diamonds in her crown, the crown that he gave her.

"You're charming," the boy moved his lips to her neck, making Ema gasp, his kiss was as light and gentle as a butterfly's wing touch.

The girl moaned as her boyfriend sucked onto her skin, leaving marks, proofs that she belonged only to him. Ema held tight onto Akira, her sharp nails as they dug into his pale skin also unintentionally left reddish marks akin to crescents. But the boy felt neither pain nor discomfort as he was moving even lower, leaving kisses on her shoulders, collarbones and, finally, her cleavage.

"Akira!" Ema yelped out of surprise, he immediatelly came back to his senses and pulled away.

"O-oh my! I'm so, so sorry!" he didn't know where to look at, only not at his girlfriend.

But instead of being shy or angry Ema suddenly laughed, looking at her boyfriend's crimson face.

"Don't be. Your lips feel nice there too."

"W-wha? What do you..." Akira blinked, wholeheartedly confused.

Ema didn't respond right away. She bit her lower lip as her own face turned deep red and something mysterious sparkled in her eyes that suddenly became as if clouded.

"Akira, I..." she put her hands over her breasts. "I want more..."

"W-what are you talking about?" the boy suddenly found his eyes to be glued to this gorgeous bosom.

"It's..." she bit her lip once more. "My boobs... Touch them?"

This madness was so pure that Akira felt all his blood rushing to his head, making him dizzy.

"Ema..! Are you... Are you serious?"

She huffed and right before his eyes undid the frontal clasp on her bra. His breath hitched as a couple of magnificent breasts got completely exposed. The surrounding illumination was very dim only due to fireflies' light, but that was enough for Akira to feel feverish and as if something started burning down his stomach at the sight. Like hypnotized he was watching blushing Ema carefully cradle her breasts in her palms. She pressed them gently towards each other for a moment and then let them ease back apart, this was repeated three times before the girl decided to move them more inward and squeeze closer to her areolas. Ema moaned as her fingertips started caressing the bare flesh surrounding her nipples. Pleasure was spreading over her skin like burning flames.

Suddenly, Ema squeaked as one of her nipples got firmly caught between Akira's thumb and index finger. As if the boy was really bewitched he pinched the nipple, tugging at it lightly, rotating, rolling, massaging. He did it with the second nipple simultaniously, and Ema moaned louder and more regular as each roll of her nipples sent pulses of delight rippling through her.

"What's wrong?" but suddenly Akira became confused as he looked up at his girlfriend barely holding back laughter.

"It's just," her palm was covering her lips, "your face is like that of a curious toddler who has caught the very first bug in his life and is examining it by messing with its wings."

"So I remind you a toddler?" he looked a bit discouraged.

"No-no," Ema laughed. "I just find your innocent face very cute. But I still have one question."

"Yes?"

"Is this your first time seeing boobs? Like ever?"

"Huh?" Akira's face reddened beyond imaginable. "W-well... It's not like I'm much interested in various adult magazines or videos."

"Oh, you are not?" the girl's face turned somewhat predatory. "What a good boy you are. Especially considering your age."

"I'm trying to keep my hormones under control."

"I see. It's great," Ema chuckled a bit sadly. "But here I am, a voluptious naughty girl who is tempting you in dirty stuff. I'm sorry."

She sighed and reached for her earlier discarded bra and top. Arousal went down, and she realized how lewd was everything she had been doing, but...

"Akira?" the girl blinked out of surprise as his hand grabbed her wrist tightly enough to prevent her from taking her clothes.

"Don't," his voice sounded breathy and a bit neurotic. "Please."

"Why? I'm pushing you into something very indecent, am I not?"

"It doesn't matter," Akira shook his head somehow frantically as his face was flushed. "It's just... It feels so weird right now. It's so heavy and hot down my stomach. It's almost like I cannot stop anymore... for some reason."

He looked down at himself embarrassedly. Ema followed his gaze and her eyes widened as she noticed a perceptible bulk in his pants.

"Oooh," her eyes lightened up in curiousity as she smirked. "What do we have here?"

"I-I think this is what happens to guys when they feel excited?" Akira stuttered and shyly looked to the side.

"Excited, huh?"

The boy couldn't hold back a gasp as his girlfriend put her hand over his crotch.

"So it _is_ how it looks like with men," Ema carefully poked the hardness through thin fabric of his pants and, blushing, looked up at him. "I must confess. I do watch some porn from time to time."

"And this is..?"

"Yeah," the girl nodded and smiled briefly as she felt a moist stain on his pants, his pre-cum was seemingly already leaking from the tip of his manhood. "If you got this horny, it means that you want me badly. This what erection is all about."

"What should we do then?" Akira whispered, covering the lower half of his face, as he felt beyond embarrassed.

"Well... We could always think of something," Ema whispered back but in mysterious tone as she undid his belt and zipper and tugged his pants down, still leaving his underwear on though as she teasingly cupped his hard dick through cloth that suddenly became so annoying to the boy.

"Like what, for example..?" he hissed through gritted teeth as something absolutely weird was making his blood boil in the pit of his stomach, causing his crotch grow unbearably sore.

"Hehe," the girl grinned as she rubbed and then mischievously pinched the tip of his manhood, forcing a lewd moan out of Akira. "Okay. You really don't seem to know what might go next, huh? At this rate I think I'll believe in your luck of experience with adult magazines or videos."

"E-Ema..." the boy was desperately gasping for air now. He felt so damn hot. As if burning in Hell.

"Don't worry," his girlfriend's voice reminded the one that could belong only to temptress. "Just follow your instincts. They won't deceive you."

He bit his lip and, having closed his eyes, listened to something so ancient and overpowering inside him. That something was akin to a wild beast that was trying to break through steel bars of the cage named "decency".

"Take... my boxers off," he whimpered as the tightness of his underwear was killing him.

Ema smirked as she grabbed the hem.

"Are you sure?" she looked up at her lover, and he saw a barely noticeable spark of worry in her eyes. "If a guy takes off his underwear in such situation, he won't put it back on until..."

She lowered her gaze and blushed brightly.

"Ah, right..." Akira regained his composure for a brief moment as he saw his beloved one growing visible nervous. He became anxious himself. "In that case, let's no..?"

He never finished his sentence as he gasped when Ema's swift hands yanked down his boxers, in a blink of an eye leaving him totally exposed.

"Ema!" he yelped as the girl wrapped her fingers around his manhood.

"Amazing..." she whispered, slowly and gently stroking its shaft. "So hard and hot and throbbing... How do you feel?"

"It's..." Akira moaned as Ema was pressing, rolling her thumb over the tip of his cock that was already overflowing with pre-ejaculate. "It's tingling. And it kinda hurts."

"Hurts, you say?"

Ema took a pause. A few moments later, moments that seemed mercilessly long to the boy due to his uncontrollable arousal, she licked her lips as if she were a cat seeing something tasty. With an extremely sly smile on her lips she, lying on her back and lifting her legs a bit, reached for the hem of her own shorts, taking them off together with her panties. Akira's eyes went wide, a whole new wave of heated dizziness hit his head as the girl, smiling in even more carnivorous way, spread her legs wide and opened her most private place with her fingers.

"See, Akira?" her voice was oozing with lust just like her gentle pink womanhood with love juices. "This is my pussy."

"Pussy?" the boy tilted his head.

"Pussy," Ema giggled. "This is how women's privates are colloquially called."

"Pussy, huh... Well, you are fluffy down there."

"Eh?! Um," the girl's face became beetroot-like in color as she looked to the side. "Uh... thank you?"

"But, uh..." Akira's blush rivaled hers as he stuttered. "Why are you so wet? Have you, by any chance... yourself?"

Ema flinched as she thought she was going to explode and destroy the area around her miles and miles away. 

"Y-you, idiot!" she was surprisingly attractive in her righteous anger as Akira barely managed to avoid her foot readied to kick him. "Of course I haven't! Geez! You know absolutely _nothing_ about all this stuff!"

"I know," the boy sighed heavily, scratching the back of his head. "I apologize. That's true. The most I know about this is that it is usually done with a girl after wedding, so..."

"Oooh," Ema's eyes softened as her grimace turned into a beautiful, gentle smile. "So this is how it is for you, right?"

"Maybe. I think..."

"Akira."

"Hm?"

The girl softly chuckled and beckoned him to bend down closer to her. As he did, she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, having made him lose his balance out of surprise and clumsily fall on top of her.

"Akira," their lips were almost touching, their eyes staring right into each other's soul, "You have no idea how much I love and trust you. I'm ready to go even further now if you want it too."

"You... you really do?" the boy's mind submerged into sweet madness for about a half as he felt his and his lover's genitalia touch, his cock was right in front of her pussy's entrance and their overflowing love juices were mixing together.

"I do," Ema nodded, her own body started to ache and go painfully numb as it craved for nothing but beloved one's manhood thrusting into her very core. "This my first time doing it though... so it will hurt."

"Will I cause you pain?" a shadow of doubt appeared on Akira's face. "But I don't want that."

"It's okay," his girlfriend giggled and caressed his cheek lovingly. "It's a normal thing that happens to virgins. And I believe that I will barely feel it if it's with you. You've never caused me any pain, right? I know you are not going to now either."

"Ema..."

"Besides, that's _exactly_ why I'm so wet down there. I trust you, my body does too and, thus, there is so much of my natural lubricant to make things easier for both of us."

"Ema, I..."

"Come on. Put it inside me. I know how much you want it."

"Wait."

He took her hand that was on his cheek and held it gently but firmly in his own, entwining their fingers together.

"We're going to take the first step into adulthood. We won't be just kids anymore. If you say you want it, let's do it. I promise, no, I swear to you with all these fireflies present as witnesses. I love you, Ema, and If I cause you any pain now, I swear this will be the last pain I ever do to you."

"Fireflies as witnesses of your oath?" she smiled happily. "I adore this. You must be the last romantic left in our rotten world."

"So... May I?"

"Of course. Do me, big boy," she chuckled teasingly, having spread her legs. "You know what to do, right?"

"It's obvious," Akira frowned a bit as he lifted her hips and lined himself up with her entrance.

"Good," Ema's cheeks turned pink, making her cuter thousandfold. "But please, be gentle."

Akira nodded. Having taken a deep breath, he closed his eyes and... pushed all the way in.

"Aa... Aaahh!" Ema couldn't hold back a cry of pain as tears sprayed out of her wide-opened eyes and something broke inside her.

"Huh?" Akira panicked as he saw blood trickling down her thighs. "Does this hurt that badly? Maybe we should stop if..."

"No," she shook her head as she sniffled and wiped her tears. "It was just my hymen... by breaking it you've took my virginity and turned me into a woman. It's natural, but... you should have been more careful and not ram yourself in so abruptly."

"I'm so sorry," he leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

"Don't worry about it. Just give me a few moments and then you may move," Ema closed her eyes and, having inhaled and exhaled a few times, nodded. "Go on."

Akira nodded in return and, having almost pulled out completely, pushed his manhood all the way inside her again. The girl gasped and gripped onto his shoulders as he moved inside her slowly and gently.

"It's so tight," the boy grunted as her walls clenched and quivered around his cock.

"Sure thing. It's the first time that a man's thing went in there," she giggled, soothingly rubbing his back.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not really. It feels mostly weird, this pressure in the pit of my stomach and the way your cock is stretching me."

"I'm sorry..."

"Stop it," she puffed her cheeks and dug her nails into his skin on purpose, having made her boyfriend hiss. "This is exactly how it's supposed to feel like. Stop apologizing."

"I'm so..."

Annoyed girl sighed and cut him off with her lips pressing tightly against his as her legs wrapped around his butt in a fiercely strong clasp.

"Ah... It's so hot and wet inside you," Akira moaned as his cock was sliding in and out easily and every new friction simply blew his frenzied mind. "It feels so good..!"

"I-I'm so happy to hear this," Ema tried her best to muffle her own moans as she bit onto her knuckle. She was worried that the suggestive noise they were making could wake some of Akira's classmates in tents nearby.

Soon enough the two of them melted completely into their passion and, rocking their hips in perfect rhythm, disappeared from this world for good. The only things left were their bodies wringgling, like a couple of snakes, their breathing, one for two, their mutual body heat and frantic heartbeat, their hugry lips touching, unable to get enough of the heavenly bliss. The two were so delighted to finally unite, become one, but suddenly...

"Huh?" taken aback Akira stopped his movements all at once. "What was... that?"

"Eh?!" Ema couldn't blush any brighter as her face was already too red due to their love play. "It's... It's not like that! It's just a queef!"

"Queef?" the boy used this pause for a breather, he felt himself so sticky and drenched with sweat.

"Yeah, a queef," the girl sloppily wiped her own moist forehead with the back of her hand as she was trying to catch her breath too. "This is a specific sound that happens when man and woman's bodies slap against each other so much and... woman's vagina sometimes does this when some air becomes trapped inside during frictions."

"Oh... I see."

"Yep," Ema awkwardly chuckled. "Sex can be quite a nasty thing, yeah. But don't worry about such a triffle, everything is great, sweetie. Shall we continue?"

Her cheerful, loving smile encouraged Akira. Having returned the smile, he resumed their playing.

Fireflies were glimmering akin to little stars above the couple, creating even more of a magical, fairy tale like mood. Ema was smiling blissfully as she held onto her beloved and felt his smell. The scent of his skin was intoxicating, musky, masculine, everything a man was supposed to smell like. The boy himself was groaning as pleasure was making his head completely free from all bad thoughts. He dipped into the side of his girlfriend's neck as she arched her spine and drew herself even closer to him, having spread her legs wider, for a better access. She giggled as his lips trailed over her skin, moved right under her chin, placing light and bordering ticklish kisses. Akira nibbled on her chin and, having earned a soft hum of held back laughter, smirked and grabbed her long ago neglected breasts, playing with them. He drew her erected pink nipple between his thumb and index finger and gently squeezed. Ema squealed in delight, surprised herself at how much sensitive she became. The boy smirked as he heard her moaning and did so more, admiring her reaction. As he continued twisting and twirling both of her nipples, plus he picked up the pace of his frictions, the girl didn't know how to escape the pleasure. Her initial pain faded away entirely, and now she couldn't belive how good this all felt. All the fears, doubts and shame faded into the bliss that she hoped would sustain her forever.

"Oh... hmm... You... ah... you can go a little... faster..!" she gasped as he immediatelly complied and was now practically tearing her apart. "Yes... yes! Ungh..!"

Low incoherent grunts escaped Akira's lips too as his facial expression was contorted in ecstasy and his hips slammed hard against Ema's.

"Ugh..!" he winced as he felt a strange convulsion down his crotch.

"What is it..?" there was a thin layer of sweat glistering all over Ema's body, over her bouncing breasts that were rising and falling with every breath she took.

"S-something... weird is... going to happen," Akira gritted his teeth as he felt a tight white-hot coil crushing his insides.

"Ah... Ah, are you cumming?" the girl knew the answer immediately as she felt his cock getting a little bigger inside her and her walls wrapping it more.

"I think so... What should I do..?"

"Cum..." Ema wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled into his shoulder. "Cum inside me."

"Huh? Inside..?"

"Yes. I want your everything."

"But... Is it really alright?" the boy could barely hold himself anymore, but a certain doubt was eating on him.

"I don't think there is a need to worry," his girfriend chuckled as she gave him a radiant smile. "This is only my first time."

Akira parted his lips to say something, but the only thing that erupted from inside him was a loud, heartfelt moan as his senses overloaded and with one final, the deepest thrust his dick spasmed. Ema squeaked too as her girl-cum squirted just at the perfect timing with hot spurts of her lover's semen filling up her pussy.

"I love you, Ema..." Akira whispered in low, breathy voice as he pulled out and collapsed on top of her.

"Aah... I love you too," the girl smiled absent-mindedly, her vision was still very blury because of her orgasm, so fireflies above her seemed nothing but numerous spots of golden light. 

" _So beautiful..._ " Ema thought and closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of nice heaviness in the pit of her stomach and her beloved one's warm cum gushing out of her pussy and, mixing with her virgin blood, streaming down her thighs.

"I'm not leaving you," Akira held her in his arms as he whispered into her ear, tears of joy formed in the corners of his eyes. "Never."

"I know," his girlfriend giggled, lovingly stroking his hair.

" _After all, fireflies are our witnesses._ "

~~~

Several years later Bessho Ema was standing all alone at the balcony of her fancy but cold and rented apartment. No longer a naive high school girl but a proficient cyber treasure hunter she was looking down at colorful but artificial lights of Den City with her empty, doll-like eyes.

Her hopes and dreams about happy future with Zaizen Akira died akin to all those fireflies in the boy's tent the very same morning after their first and last night together.

Exactly in a week after that school trip ended Akira's parents tragically died in a car crash. Just like that. All of a sudden. In the morning the boy still had his family and was smiling happily, in the evening his heart became broken in pieces and tears couldn't stop rolling down his cheeks. For a few days he never attended his classes and never contacted Ema in any way, making the girl quite worried. How many calls, how many messages did she send him, there was no reply. And when he finally did show up at school, instead of relief she felt even more anxious. She simply couldn't recognize her beloved one. Akira looked like a living ghost, haggard, feeble, his face was eerily pallid and his eyes... those eyes that reminded Ema the ones of a dead fish.

Right. Dead.

Zaizen Akira really seemed as if he had died alongside his parents in that accident. The boy who was attending school afterwards was nothing but a mere zombie, a dead body without a soul.

Ema's own heart was not able to find any rest as long as she saw how much he, the most precious person to her, was suffering. Of course, she couldn't have possibly reject reality or revive his father and step-mother, but at least she tried her best to not leave her lover's side at the time. That time that was so hard for him as he was full of grief. Before that all happened Akira used to tell Ema about how much better his life had been ever since his father married for the second time. That woman who became the boy's step-mother was so gentle and kind and as warm as the sun that there were moments when he seriously considered calling her "mom" like she wanted him to, but he was too shy about this. And, unfortunately, he had lost the chance to do that permanently...

Many other things changed forever for Akira too. He was left in care of his younger sister, the daughter of his step-mother. The girl, Aoi, was still quite young and, as Akira thought, traumatized by the accident much worse than him, so he was doing everything in his power to not let them be separated and keep their life stable even under such circumstances. But for that he had to make some sacrifices, for example, having less free time and by less it meant that sometimes Ema was seriously worried about her boyfriend overworking himself to death. Though Akira himself couldn't care less about his own need to rest from time to time as he found his employment in SOL Technologies, where his father used to work, far more important. He also abandoned playing a violin, his most favorite hobby, and left their school's music club in order to have more time for extra management courses. More, much more time for studying that became 24/7 for Akira... and less, much less time for the girl who loved and was worried for him wholeheartedly. She was doing her best to stay by his side, to soothe, hug, kiss him, anything she could have thought of just to make him feel a tiny bit better...

" _Not now, Ema,_ " but that was everything she heard from her significant one as he kept on brushing her aside.

And that was painful, agonizingly painful. Especially because while being fully invested in helping him to cope with his pain Ema was completely ignorant to something _very_ important going on with her own body.

When the realization struck her it was already the fifth month.

Yes, there was a baby under her rapidly pounding heart, a new life cradled in her womb, a sweet fruit of her and Akira's love... the fruit that Akira never found out about.

There were several reasons why everything ended up the way it was.

The very first of them was, of course, fear. That enourmous fear that was crawling, like gross snails, all over Ema's skin every time she was worried if anyone and most of all her mother would notice her visibly rounded belly. That terrible feeling that everyone was side-eyeing her and their looks were akin to sharp knives thrown right into the girl's back when she wasn't watching. But it was okay, Ema thought this way to soothe herself, everything was fine. For those past few months Akira's mental condition seemed to have become better. That was enough for the girl to keep her own sanity until...

" _I think it would be better if we stayed just friends,_ " awkwardly modest, utterly apologetic smile on Akira's lips seemed like a weapon of mass destruction to Ema.

Breaking. Crumbling. Collapse. Demolition. Demise. Decay.

This feeling with so many different names but one nature affected her heart and mind in the same way.

Ema turned into a fragile statue and as lots of fractures ran throughout her entire body she broke into pieces.

Akira was desperately trying to give an answer to her quiet "why", but the girl could not comprehend the words as they seemed so muddled and incoherent to her. Through white noise ringing in her blank head she could only identify "work", "Aoi", "money", "Aoi", "support", "Aoi" and "so that Aoi wouldn't have a need in anything".

Aoi, Aoi, Aoi... so much of Aoi.

Ema didn't know why, she chose to believe it was most likely due to her pregnancy though, but she felt sick. Never bothering to hear the rest about the benefits of being "just friends" the girl interrupted stuttering Akira by abruptly getting up from her chair and quickly, almost running away, leaving that cafe in which the two used to spend their sweet dates. And as she got outside she immediately got soaked under heavy shower and really started running as fast as she could. Her vision was all blurry and she almost got hit by cars twice as she was frantically running, not knowing herself where to. She became out of breath rather quickly as she was choking with tears, but her heart that was fluttering akin to crazy butterfly kept on telling her only one thing.

" _Liar, liar, liar, liar..."_

That person, the one who she believed was her prince, Zaizen Akira never went after her, never chased her through gloomy and rainy streets of Den City but left her all alone... or, rather, she was no longer alone and all thanks to him, right..?

Right or wrong, it didn't matter when Ema returned home. Drenched, dirty and trembling, just like a beaten dog, she confessed to her mother about expecting a baby... and was perfectly okay with receiving a hard slap in her face.

" _You're a filthy slut! A whore!_ " that woman kept on cursing her own daughter as she hit her more and more. " _I knew it would have happened sooner or later! What a slutty bitch you are!!_ "

" _At least I know who the father of my baby is..._ " Ema was crying but kept this thought to herself only as she clumsily rubbed her bruised cheeks.

Mother never knew about her relationship with Akira, but the girl decided not to tell about his fatherhood anyway, even when the woman was harshly interrogating her, even when she was threatening to kick her out of their house. Fortunately, the latter was prevented by Hiraku-san, the man whom mother married a couple years prior to all that. Ema's step-father was a kind and benevolent man, he was the one who convinced his wife to not be so hard on her own child, foolish, yeah, but still a child who needed their support the most. Ema was also grateful to the man that he suggested to live with his relatives in their cottage outside of Den City until the baby would have been born. The further from Akira, she thought, the better, though she wasn't feeling exactly comfortable while surrounded by total strangers. Ema desperately wished to become transparent, turn into a ghost just so that those people would have stopped accusingly staring at her and her huge belly that she wanted to protect so badly by constantly hiding it under loose yukatas and wrapping her hands around it. The only solace that the girl found during big and noisy family dinners was not participating in them, instead she was breathing fresh air deep in the garden while watching fireflies dancing among buds of sleeping roses.

And yet, severe stress was probably the primary reason why Hotaru, Ema's baby daughter, was born prematurely, at the beginning of the eight month. Aside from that too, young mother's worst fears came true as soon as she held the infant for the first time. The child turned out to be a carbon copy of Akira if he were a baby girl and the only thing that clearly spoke about Ema's genes were ears, those god-damn pointed ears which Ema herself inherited from gods know who.

But did she hate that child? That squeaky bundle of joy in her embrace that reminded her so much about the guy who betrayed her but, nevertheless, was still deeply loved by her? Well, the answer was obvious. She could _never_ hate such a precious treasure that bonded her so tightly with Akira.

Was she in a hurry to try and start everything anew with him? When she had returned to the city and when their daughter turned two months old he approached her again, for the first time after their long silence. Ema was slightly shoked to see how much he changed in those few months, it seemed as if Akira grew ten years older in such a short time span. He had still been fully emerged in his studying while getting ready to grab a good position at SOL, but... the girl could have not recognized her beloved, her prince from fairy tale who suddenly turned into some ever-tired, overworked and dull young man.

" _Yeah... I guess our fairy tale was defeated by harsh reality after all,_ " Ema thought this way every time when Akira would have talked about nothing aside from his work for the next years as they restarted their relationship... or, rather, they never actually did it.

The only time when Akira briefly mentioned their past was when he told her how much he was worried about her after she had suddenly dropped out of school and disappeared from the city for good. And Ema was really able to grasp barely perceptible but definitely present shaky notes in his voice as he was talking about how he called her hundreds of times, how he left her thousands of messages in all possible social networks... and all of that was true, it was just the girl's desicion to cut herself off completely by never logging in in any of her accounts or accepting incoming calls during her pregnancy.

Ema never told Akira about the pregnancy and Hotaru's birth too. But was the reason really in her anger towards that no-good father of her baby?

Oh yes, and it was not just anger but a huge, heartfelt fury. If it wasn't for him in the first place, she wouldn't have to have gone through all that hell of a teenage mom being judged by every last dog looking at her. If it wasn't for him suggesting "to remain just friends" or, basically, blatantly ditching her, she wouldn't have had to shed so many tears, so many tears that made grown Ema's soul chronically bitter. If it wasn't for him making her a baby, Ghost Girl would have never been born as a cyber treasure hunter but Bessho Ema would have successfully graduated from her school and continued her education at some decent university or found a good and, the most important point, _legal_ job. If it wasn't for him breaking his promise, the girl would have remained the happiest human in the world... not a ghost with broken heart.

And how many times did Ema help Akira with his "favors"? Or should it be called how many times did she let him "use" her? He who looked at her as if nothing special ever happened between them... Ema probably had all the moral rights to just ditch him like he did it with her...

But there were too many "buts" that prevented her from trying to make his life miserable. For example, she could have made him aware of Hotaru's existence, but Ema knew too well that by doing so she would have only placed more burden on Akira's already worn-out shoulders. And how much more guilt she would have surely suffocate him with! Even without telling him all the truth Ema could notice sparks of regret in his dull, faded pink eyes. She even suspected that his constant hiring of her and her alone out of many other "freelance programmers" was actually him still clinging to his feelings for her. So if Ema ever told him that she carried his child and that because of his "let's just be friends" she was forced to give birth and raise their baby girl all alone... no, Ema was cruel enough but not _that_ cruel to him. She was ready to tease him, prickle him lightly, but not utterly destroy his already fragile sanity.

" _I'm not interested in men with no money or power,_ " sounded much more merciful in her opinion than, " _How could you have left me all alone when I needed you the most?_ "

Yes. By generalizing Ema was partially relieving Akira of his guilt.

Why? Because she loved him.

Nevertheless, there was still some poison running through her mind as she kept seeing him. Every time he said "Aoi".

Aoi. Zaizen Aoi.

Blind fury overwhelmed Ema from time to time even though the woman realized it vividly that the girl was not at fault and that she was just as much a victim of life circumstances as Akira. And yet, malice was the driving force of why Ghost Girl gave away Blue Angel's identity to SOL's bosses and, thus, giving Akira bad time.

" _You care so much about your dear Aoi, Akira..._ " Ema thought as she was about to talk to Chess Pieces. " _...But she's not even really related to you."_

And that was especially agonizing considering he had no idea that Hotaru, his true flesh and blood, existed.

But that was Ema's choice. She honestly thought it would have been better. And as the time passed she eventually got used to making bad choices. For example, abandoning, like a cuckoo, her little daughter in care of her grandparents. Ema's mother was never enthusiastic about Hotaru's birth and was quite cold towards her, it was only thanks to Hiraku-san that Ema was sure that the child would not be neglected completely; Ema's step-father was actually suffering from infertility and he had no children of his own, thus, Hotaru was the closest he could get to his child.

But it never lessened the weight of Ema's sin, no way. Even though she truly loved her child and, yes, she lied to her mother about thinking of Hotaru as a mistake. But no matter what Ema said or no matter how many money she sent to her parents for Hotaru's needs the woman always knew how much of a terrible mother she was. She knew that the reason why the toddler was growing to be so cranky and neurotic was entirely her fault. Small children are like sponges absorbing the world surrounding them, so... how could Hotaru, that tiny firefly, survive in the darkness, without her mom who, to be honest, was avoiding seeing her on Sundays on purpose because of shame and without her dad who was not even aware of her existence? And yeah, Ema _was_ ashamed that she could not give her daughter all the love she needed and deserved.

"I'm sorry, Hotaru, I'm so sorry..." the woman whispered after checking the new incoming call on her phone, and, having discovered that it was from Akira, declined it.

Ema sighed heavily as she looked at the magazine with the sketch in it. Big white manor, castle made of marble and made for a princess, a petite princess named Hotaru. That was Ema's dream and her primary purpose in achieving as much money as she could so that she could have eventually build such a fairy tale for her baby girl.

" _Perhaps if you were living in the castle, my little firefly,_ " the woman wiped a treacherous tear that rolled down her cheek, " _you would have been compensated for not having a father..?_ "

**Author's Note:**

> Akira's and Ema's daughter's name is from Japanese 蛍 (hotaru) meaning "firefly".


End file.
